2011: Amy Gore & Her Valentines. Leann Banks plays bass and sings (Von Bondies), Jackson Smith plays guitar (T-Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Review, Karen Elson, Wanda Jackson), and Smokin’ Joe Leone handles the drums (Grayling, Fletcher Pratt). The group debuted as Amy Gore & The Squires in March of 2011, quickly changing the band name to Amy Gore & Her Valentines. In April the band recorded with Al Sutton at Rustbelt Studios (Kid Rock). The music is a far cry from Gore’s punk roots. The Valentine’s sound is pure rock n’ roll with power pop touches; the songs are unbelievably infectious. Read more here. Follow: @gore_valentines.

To date, Amy Gore released three studio albums as the main songwriter and voice of the Gore Gore Girls. The first single, Mama in the Movies, was released in 1999 and gained favorable airplay on college radio stations in Michigan. The band’s first full-length album, Strange Girls, debuted in 2000, with the band being billed by their label as ‘the Ronettes meet the MC5’. On the band’s second album, 2002’s Up All Night, Amy’s songwriting ventured into a 1960’s pop-soul direction while maintaining a decidedly low-fi aesthetic; the album received positive press from the Village Voice and Detroit Free Press.

Gore Gore Girls toured as direct support for The Cramps in 2003 and 2004, extensive touring in the US followed. The band released an EP in 2004, 7 X 4, which became part of their third album, Get the Gore. Tracks from the EP and subsequent third album received airplay on Little Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage Program on Sirius Satellite Radio; the band was featured at the now legendary Underground Garage Festival on Randall’s Island, New York along with The Stooges, The Strokes, The New York Dolls, The Zombies and others. The band’s third full-length album, Get the Gore, was released in 2007 on Bloodshot Records. Get The Gore was recorded at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit; critics from magazines like Playboy and Womens Wear Daily and newspapers like USA Today took notice and praised the Girls. The Village Voice described them thusly: [blockquote]“Gore Gore Girls mix Stooges spit with Supremes soul like an itching in my heart full of napalm.”[/blockquote]

2008 – 2011: Amy collaborated successfully with cult-hero Nikki Corvette to form Gorevette. Gorevette released their debut 7-song EP titled Lustfully Yours on January 26, 2010 on Strange Girl Records.  On release, the Detroit Metro Times had this to say, “In other words, you’d have to have a heart of stone or be a rock ‘n’ roll hater and curmudgeon not to enjoy this stuff. To steal an old cliché: It’s as much fun as you’re likely to have with your clothes on.” Riding a wave of like-minded press, Gorevette toured as direct support to The Donnas and also the legendary Blondie on their Endangered Species tour in the United States and in addition to a headlining tour of Japan in the spring of  2010.

Gore’s talents are myriad: she is a ferocious guitarist who has helped bring Gretsch hollowbody guitars their due, a songwriter who distills the perfect pop gem and a studio pro whose unerring ear brought both the Gore Gore Girls and Gorevette to light.